


watch and learn

by VITAMX



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Gen, Hermitcraft - Freeform, Minecraft Evo - Freeform, Techtris, Wal, Watcher Grian, evo - Freeform, grian is a watcher, grian wasnt invited to hc, hermitcraft au, watch and learn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:09:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22233079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VITAMX/pseuds/VITAMX
Summary: curiosity killed the cat.despite knowing this, mumbo gets too attached to the unknown, until it is all he knows.
Relationships: Grian & mumbo jumbo, Mumbo Jumbo & Grian, Mumbo Jumbo & Iskall85, Mumbo Jumbo & Iskall85 & Stressmonster, Mumbo Jumbo & Stressmonster, No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 34
Kudos: 289





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ~ NOTE ~
> 
> this story heavily references lore from grian's minecraft evolution series- so it may be confusing if you have not watched it. thank you for reading :)
> 
> ( in case you are wondering, yes i had this same story up before, but i decided to rewrite it! )

\---

A seemingly endless storm roared throughout the sky, the rain pattering loudly against the ground, faint echoes of thunder rumbling throughout the server…

Yes, tonight was a night were Mumbo could never seem to succumb to slumber.

Perhaps it was because the sky itself was awake, or perhaps it was because the occasional flashes of lighting startled him back to full awareness, but on nights like these, Mumbo simply could not fall asleep.

Although, Mumbo thought, perhaps the storm was only surrounding Hermitville? Perhaps, if he went over to his base back on the main island…

His mind was made fairly quickly- after all, anything was better than trying to fall asleep and failing for hours on end.

Slowly rolling himself out of the creaky bed, which had not been worn down in the slightest, Mumbo blindly placed a spare redstone torch down upon the floor, and rubbed his tired eyes as he suppressed a yawn.

He reached towards his elytra that had been half-hazardly draped across the floor, strapping it on slowly as to not pinch himself with any of the clips.

Stretching his arms and rolling his shoulders, Mumbo peeked into his inventory, humming silently to himself.

Pulling out a splash potion of night vision, he squinted his eyes in anticipation as he threw the bottle against the floor.

The powder quickly rose from its place on the ground, coating his body with chemical-scented particles, his eyes blinking rapidly to adjust to the potion’s effects.

Stumbling out of the cozy house he had made for himself in Hermitville, Mumbo shivered nearly instantly as he exited the miniature base- it felt like a blizzard rather than a thunderstorm, in all honesty.

He tried to pay it no attention, quickly firing a rocket to propel him into the sky, and towards the watchtower that held the village’s nether portal inside.

He was wringing his now drenched hair out when he saw it in the corner of his eye.

What was it, exactly? It looked almost like a winged person, crouched upon Scar’s floating castle that loomed above Hermitville- and they were staring directly at him.

Mumbo’s breath hitched in his throat, flinching as the coldness crept up his neck, nearly suffocatingly.

Had he not applied the potion of night vision, he likely would not have spotted the figure, whose wings sprouted largely behind their back.

No one on the server had wings that appeared as such- only elytras, and even then, they held the appearance of butterfly wings, nothing more…

A blink of the eye, and the figure was gone without a trace.

Mumbo never flew by so quickly throughout the nether before- though no matter how swiftly he traveled towards his own nether portal, he would not have been able to catch the spying eyes that trailed after him, glinting mischievously as though they had found a piece of prey.

\---

Mumbo was more than glad to have made it back to his base in one piece- after all, he had looked a strange entity directly in the eye and ran away immediately after.

The storm was now nothing more than a measly sprinkle of rain, the atmosphere much more welcoming.

Rubbing his eyes, Mumbo exhaled a breath he hadn’t known he was holding, shivering from his cold, damp suit that clung to his skin uncomfortably.

“Ugh, now I need to change, too…” He complained to nobody in particular, sneezing after barely a second’s notice- twice, in fact.

Although, just as he was about to tread off to his room and change into a comfy pair of sleepwear, the temperature dropped.

His breath escaped his lips in a white, foggy mist, the water that clung to his outfit nearly freezing over.

“Bless you,” An unfamiliar voice behind him whispered, sounding amused and beguiled.

Without even _thinking_ , Mumbo swung himself around, elbowing the figure directly in the face, wincing as a loud _crack!_ echoed throughout his base, accompanied by a yell of pain.

Mumbo took several steps back, heart pounding in his chest. His arm, which had made contact with the person, felt nearly numb, succumbing to a chilling, brumal cold.

The figure itself appeared to be that of a man, gowned in a deep purple and neon-purple accented dress that ended at his knees, with lighter purple wings draping wistfully across the floor.

He wore three silver necklaces, black fingerless gloves, and black leggings- a recurring symbol in neon purple accented the outfit mysteriously.

“Wh-who are you?!” Mumbo yelled, reaching for his communicator instantaneously.

Like a bolt of lighting, the figure snapped his head up, gazing directly into Mumbo’s eyes menacingly.

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll put that communicator down and let me talk,” He hissed, making Mumbo halt in his tracks, eyes widening in diluted fear.

“O- Okay, okay…” Mumbo replied, his voice shaky. He raised his hands to rest open-palmed beside his shoulders in surrender. “Oh gosh… What… What do you want?”

“Ah, now that’s much better, see?” The figure hummed, a polite smile growing on his face. “My name is Grian! Or Empire, if you’d rather call me that… So sorry for the scare.”

“See, I was sent down here into this world for some menial task… I haven’t quite finished it yet, but erm… Well, no one was really supposed to see me. Understand?” He murmured, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. “So I’d super-duper appreciate it if you kept your mouth zipped.” He grinned, swiping his fingers across his mouth like a zipper.

Unable to speak, still in shock with his heart beating loudly against his chest, Mumbo nodded wordlessly.

“It isn’t really anything personal, you know? Rules and regulations, all that sort… I’d hate to destroy the, erm, inhabitants of this server if word were to get out about me being here.” Grian hummed, the same small, polite smile never leaving his face. “Oh, but who knows? Perhaps we’ll talk again very soon…”

“Bye-bye for now, Mumbo Jumbo!”

In mere seconds, Grian leapt into the air and flew away into the sky itself, leaving behind nothing but a single, purple feather.

\---


	2. Chapter 2

\---

Suffice to say, Mumbo did not get as much sleep that night as he had been hoping for.

  
  


For hours, he tossed and turned in his maroon-colored bed, heart thumping wildly in his chest, expecting that _Grian_ person to suddenly appear once more.

How ironic is it, that a person whose presence brings a numbing cold has a name that symbolizes the sun?

  
  


By the time Mumbo had been able to rest his eyes for a good few hours, however, _someone_ had spammed his communicator endlessly, jolting him wide awake at the loud buzzing and dinging.

He felt dizzy and completely and utterly _exhausted_. He almost muted his communicator entirely, as to go back to the silence he was before surrounded in.

Though, as a full-fledged member of Techtris, Mumbo wouldn’t have been able to avoid them anyway.

Turning his communicator over, Mumbo groggily sat up in his bed, desperately fighting to keep his eyes open.

  
  


> **Stressmonster101** : MUMBOOO!
> 
> **Stressmonster101** : mumbo jumbo mumbo jumbo mumbo jumbo
> 
> **Stressmonster101** : mumbo!!! where are you??!!
> 
> **Stressmonster101** : we had a meeting scheduled like an hour ago :(
> 
> **Stressmonster101** : you promised to come!!
> 
> **Stressmonster101** : mumbo?

  
  


Mumbo felt a deep pit of guilt settle in his gut, mentally kicking himself for forgetting the Tundra meeting he had promised to attend.

It’s not like he had _wanted_ to go, but still! A promise was a promise.

He wasn’t quite sure if he would be of much help at the meeting, though. But, alas, he had a promise to uphold, so he quickly typed out a messy response, hopping out of bed.

  
  


> **MumboJumbo** : sprry i slpept in
> 
> **MumboJumbo** : be threr in a bit

  
  


For now, Mumbo decided silently, he would just… play dumb. Ignore the events held in the prior night- try and forget it all.

Worrying over it would do him no good.

With that in mind, Mumbo staggered towards his dresser, grabbing his usual suit, dress shirt, and tie, and quickly changed into said attire.

His limbs felt a bit stiff, and he was sure he was minutes away from passing out, but other than that, he felt ready for the day ahead of him.

Sliding on his elytra and grabbing a spare set of rockets, Mumbo flew out from his base and towards the shopping district.

The battering wind made his eyes tear up as well, which did not help his exhausted state in the slightest.

  
  


As his speed slowed down once more, Mumbo’s watery and squinted eyes drifted downwards, gazing at the view of the sparkling ocean.

The storm was long gone, and the sun was shining brightly. Plenty of fish were swimming along with the currents, and the salty smell of the ocean clung to Mumbo heavily.

  
  


For just a second, the unease that settled in his mind eased ever so slightly.

  
  


Before long, Mumbo had reached the shopping district, and in the shopping district was Techtris’ massive project: Tundra.

At first, Mumbo was a bit hesitant on the name of the mega shop- after all, he was never really a fan of an ice theme, he had been convinced in due time.

Techtris itself was a three-person alliance between he, Iskall, and Stress- though Iskall and him were the original members, Stress having joined after the Prank War.

The three of them were practically attached at the hip, often going golfing together, pranking friends together, and the like.

Oh, but he was getting side-tracked, now. He had a meeting to attend!

Gliding over the massive black and light blue themed mega-shop, Mumbo brushed his messy, unfortunately uncombed hair back, angling downwards to enter the meeting room through the usual hole in the window.

  
  


“Hey- Hey guys, sorry for being so late, I-” Mumbo began, before halting his words, shoulders drooping.

  
  


The room was empty and silent- hauntingly so. The faint humming and clicking of redstone from the room over buzzed occasionally through the mismatched ice and black concrete walls.

  
  


They had left already. They hadn’t waited for him.

  
  


Eyes cast downward in disappointment, Mumbo numbly reached for his communicator, glancing down at the messages Stress had sent him once more.

  
  


They had been sent three hours ago.

He had slept in for _five_.

  
  


Four hours, they had waited for him- and he had the gall to not show up.

He supposed it wouldn’t be too surprising to them; he missed meetings all the time.

Sliding into his usual meeting chair, Mumbo sighed sadly, rubbing his exhausted eyes, and rested his head on the table.

Unwillingly, his mind drifted back to the mysterious figure he’d encountered the previous night with a side of bitterness. If it weren’t for _him_ , he would have been able to make the meeting, would have been able to uphold the promise he had made to his _friends_ …

  
  


“Why so blue, Mumbo Jumbo? Red seems like a color much better suited for you,” A familiar, chilling voice muttered, the room practically freezing over along with its arrival.

  
  


Snapping his head up and facing the direction of the voice, Mumbo jumped in surprise- Grian was standing in the room, likely having come through the large hole in the blue-stained window panes.

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Mumbo stood abruptly, clutching onto the edge of the table in apprehension.

“...What do you want?” Mumbo asked, struggling to keep his voice unwavering.

  
  


“Hm?” Grian hummed, purple eyes softening as a strangely familiar, polite smile grew on his face. “Is it that hard to believe I’m not here to hurt you? Well- I guess I can be fairly intimidating…” He mused, leaning up against the window, purple wings folded neatly behind him.

  
  


“You-” Mumbo stuttered, narrowing his eyes in disbelief. “You _threatened_ me last night into not telling anyone you were here! That’s- that’s fairly suspicious to me!” He scoffed, unconsciously stepping away from him.

  
  


“I only said that because I’m not exactly supposed to be here.” Grian sighed, eyes narrowing as well, his smile falling from his lips.

  
  


“That’s _still_ suspicious- even more so!” Mumbo argued, shivering as the temperature suddenly dropped harshly- along with that came an uneasy feeling of pure dread.

  
  


“Fine, then,” Grian said, hastily stepping towards Mumbo with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Why don’t we have ourselves a little Q&A, then? Think of it as a fun game of twenty questions… Or an interrogation, if you’re so keen on proving I’m some sort of villain.” He chuckled, wings spreading out behind him.

  
  


Sitting down on the edge of the table, Grian waved his hand, almost as if to allow permission for Mumbo to ask questions as he pleased.

Halting in his tracks, Mumbo slowly but surely nodded along, grimacing as he leaned against the table as well. His fists were clenched, ready to apprehend the other at a moment’s notice.

  
  


“Ask away, redstoner,” Grian grinned smugly, his eyes carefully tracking Mumbo’s every movement. “You wouldn’t want to waste your time thinking of the questions themselves, though, so be quick about it, why don’t you? I haven't got all day.”

\---


	3. Chapter 3

\---

Chewing on his lip, Mumbo looked down at the floor, choosing his next words carefully. Grian was right- he couldn't waste time thinking up the questions themselves, but what else could he do? This suspicious figure he'd unintentionally spotted had seemingly been following him, watching him...

Of course it would be a bit hard to pick his words.

Grian's icy gaze seemed to watch his every precise movement, narrowed dangerously. Swallowing a lump in his throat, Mumbo sighed, grasping his hands together to keep them warm, and raised his head, locking eyes with the winged being.

"What... are you?" He muttered cautiously. "Humans don't have wings."

"Straight to the point, are we?" Grian tsked, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. "I'm simply an observer; a spectator... A Watcher." He hummed in amusement, a polite smile growing on his face once more.

"That doesn't exactly answer my question," Mumbo huffed in frustration. "Are you some new- new mob or something?" He guessed.

Grian laughed loudly, covering his smile with his hand.

His laugh sounded hyper and mischievous- sounded as if it belonged to someone who was watching the world explode.

That laugh sent shivers down Mumbo's spine.

"Oh- no, no! I'm not a _mob_ , do you take me for some mindless monster? That's so _silly_. I answered your question- I am a Watcher." He chuckled, his laugh quieting down. "Though... I used to be human, you know. I was the owner of a server, too." He mused, a strange softness in his eyes.

"You _were_ human?" Mumbo questioned, the tension from his shoulders slowly fading. "How can you suddenly _not_ be a human anymore? What happened?"

Grian's smile fell from his face, an icy cold returning to the room once more. He did not look _mad_ , per se, but rather, he looked melancholic, and bothered.

"Don't you think there are more important questions you could be asking?" He replied flatly, before an amused smile was plastered on his face. "You can't unlock my secret backstory until my 7th side-quest!" He joked, snorting to himself.

Despite the unexpected answer, Mumbo snapped his mouth shut, unease settling in his gut. Though, if there was some way to turn a human into... _whatever_ it is that Grian was, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"Well- alright, then..." Mumbo stuttered, rubbing his arms as the room grew colder still. "How... How did you come here? Did Xisuma whitelist you? He never said anything about a new hermit coming."

"...Ah." Grian hummed, pulling a face. "I'm actually not so sure myself. I think we just... _Can_. Not so sure why- though, we Watchers _are_ some sort of otherworldly entity and such."

"You don't know _how_ you were able to enter the server?" Mumbo asked, dumbfounded. "-Wait, 'otherworldly entity'?"

"Yes, yes, I _just_ said that," Grian sighed, rolling his purple-hued eyes. "And yes, Watchers live beyond the Void, which technically makes them 'otherworldly'. Maybe that's why, actually- the Void connects to all worlds, after all..." He mumbled, furrowing his eyebrows.

"That's... O-okay, then..." Mumbo muttered, pulling on the collar of his dress shirt- he was talking to some sort of alien, then? "Why... Why are you here? You said you had a 'task' to do. What is it?"

The corner of Grian's mouth twitched, and he glanced to the side for a quick second- usual signs that belonged to a liar.

"Well, if you must know..." He sighed, quickly plastering a smile on his face. "It's a Watcher's duty to keep an eye on worlds. Make sure it's not falling apart, or that nothing gets corrupted... Oh, and we help with updates, too." He explained, tapping the table with his finger mindlessly.

Mumbo's eyes narrowed in confusion and hesitance.

He remembered Grian's earlier statement, if it was that hard to believe he wasn't here to hurt him... And while it was not even ten minutes ago, suddenly it felt as though, just maybe, Grian didn't seem so bad.

(Though, of course, something about him still left him with a sense of unease and uncertainty.)

"So..." Mumbo began, his lips pulling into a thin line. "You're like... A guardian of the world? Then... Why are you so against me telling anyone you're here?"

Grian frowned, the tapping on the table growing faster and painfully louder as the seconds quickly slipped by.

He was silent, eyes narrowed dangerously as he glared _daggers_ in Mumbo's direction, the room suddenly feeling like a freezer. The ice patterns on the walls ever so slightly grew out towards the ceiling and floor, the air chilled and foggy...

"Didn't I mention it before?" Grian muttered, annoyed. "Watchers are not supposed to be-"

Suddenly, his eyes widened, and the familiar warping effect of an enderman flashed around him- within a second, he was gone.

Mumbo's eyes were wide, and he stood up abruptly, shivering still and tightly hugging onto himself. Nearly instantly, a firework was heard, and after that, several more. Before long, a figure flew in through the window, nearly tumbling into him.

"MUMBO!" Stress yelled, stumbling onto the ground and taking ahold of his shoulders. "How could you be _four_ _hours_ late to a meeting?! It's nearly-"

Mumbo couldn't hear the rest of what she was saying- his eyes had drifted to the side. On the table where Grian had sat, there were faint carvings on the tabletop, of which appeared to be strange symbols and markings: galactic writing.

Before long, Stress had noticed he wasn't listening, halting her speech and following his gaze.

"Oh, hey," Stress hummed, hands slipping off of Mumbo's stiff shoulders, her fingers tracing over the symbols. "Isn't this Galactic? Have you been practicin' writing it or somefing?" She wondered, turning to look at Mumbo with wide, innocent eyes.

"I-" Mumbo began, blinking rapidly. He felt a slow pit of guilt return to his gut as he carefully planned his next words. "...Yes, I- I have been. It's a... nice pastime. Rather than redstone, I mean." He stuttered, wringing his fingers together almost in shame- he hoped he was better at lying than he thought.

"Well," Stress huffed, eyes narrowing playfully. "Next time don't _carve_ _it_ on our table! Now I've got'a go replace the damn block... What's it say, anyway?"

"Oh-! Um, it-it, says..." Mumbo stammered, face flushing red in embarrassment. Why'd he have to go and make up an excuse that he himself couldn't go with?

(Though, more adamantly on his mind, why was he making an excuse for Grian, anyways?)

"Wait, wait, don't tell me! I've been learning a bit myself too, you know! Helpful when you're enchantin' stuff, 'n all that." Stress grinned, eyebrows furrowing as she looked down at the carvings once more. "Ot... No, that's an A... At the... 'At the dragon'? What is that s'pposed t' mean?"

Slowly, the dread Mumbo had been setting aside came back to him full-force, his face paling and his eyes widening ever-so-slightly.

"At the dragon". Grian had carved that out, hadn't he?

"Um..." Mumbo began, swallowing as his throat suddenly felt dry. "Don't... Worry about it. I was just... writing down random stuff." He rasped, looking off to the side and forcing a grin onto his face. "Sorry for, erm, missing the meeting, too. Didn't sleep too well, I guess."

Stress' eyes softened, and she offered Mumbo a comforting smile- one that seemed much more genuine than the polite, porcelain smiles Grian had on his face constantly.

"Oh, forget about all that, luv. Why don't you go get some more rest, then? You look a little pale," She hummed, placing a hand on Mumbo's shoulder gently. "It's awfully cold in here, too. I'll bring by some hot cocoa later, how's that sound?"

Mumbo smiled exhaustedly and gratefully, shoulders drooping.

"That... sounds lovely. Thank you, Stress," Mumbo mumbled, rubbing at his eyes. "I think I will go and do that- rest, I mean. I'll see you later, Stress..." He hummed, grabbing his set of rockets and waving a quick farewell before leaping out of the window, and stumbling into the air towards his base.

He tried not to think too much about the cryptic message Grian had most _definitely_ carved onto the table- with his _finger_ , too.

Though, of course, curiosity _did_ kill the cat.

"At the dragon"... What exactly did that mean? The first thing that came to mind was Stress' faux ice-dragon that curled around her winter-themed castle in Hermitville.

Other than that, there were Tango's dragon towers (which weren't even complete yet), but that seemed like the less likely option. Though, was there something inside the dragon? Did Grian want to meet up with him there?

... _Should_ he risk meeting up with him?

Grian still wasn't exactly a friendly entity, even if he claimed that he was watching the server as it's- what, protector? But still, Mumbo couldn't risk leaving Grian alone and letting him do whatever he pleased- he still had questions that needed answering, too.

As Mumbo landed on the roof of his spherical base, he looked down at the familiar scenery of the ocean.

The ocean was big, nearly endless, filled with life and wonders- Mumbo loved the ocean more than anything; save for redstone, of course. The salty smell of the ocean was comforting in a way, a reminder of what was around him.

Mumbo stayed on the roof of his base for hours- snacking on golden carrots, messing with redstone parts, and enjoying the smell and scenery of the ocean and the gentle wind that blew past him. The sun soon began to set, and by then Mumbo had made up his mind.

Dusting off the redstone on his hands, Mumbo fired a rocket and flew down, down to the bottom of his base and through his nether portal.

Distantly, on a sculpted ice dragon, someone lay within the opened jaw of the non-organic creature, waiting...

Watching.

\---

Stress drifted slowly to the floor of Mumbo's base, making a u-turn for his room, two mugs held in her hands and a bright smile on her face. She couldn't help but feel giddy- it had been a while since she had hung out with Mumbo, after all! And what better way to spend time with a friend than to enjoy a tasty mug of hot cocoa?

Pushing the door open with her elbow, Stress glanced down at the chocolate and buckets of milk in her inventory, whispering into the room as to not cause a startle.

"Hey Mumbs, I brought the-" She began, stepping into the room completely.

She faltered, the smile on her lips slowly falling.

The room was empty and dark- it didn't look like anyone had been inside for hours.

"...Mumbo?"

\---


	4. Chapter 4

\---

The flight over to Hermitville was one filled with an unwavering sense of curiosity and suspicion- a feeling Mumbo found himself quickly growing used to.

His hands occasionally slipped when he reached to tug on another rocket string, and he constantly stuttered and staggered in his flight; his elytra getting scraped every time he turned a corner.

_(It wasn't his fault he was such a clumsy flier! Elytras felt like an unnecessary weight on him, constantly tugging at the back of his blazer.)_

Then, slowly but surely, the portal to Hermitville came into view.

Mumbo ceased firing his rockets and glided down unto the floor, and the soles of his shoes hit the tiled floor with a soft tap. He pressed one hand upon the side of the portal, and lifted himself up and into the purple swirling mass that hummed and buzzed loudly in his ears.

His sight faded from his grasp for mere seconds, coming back to him after like always, and he stepped down and into the wooden tower that held the Hermitville portal inside.

He shook his head to clear the trace of buzzing inside it, and drifted down onto the stone and gravel ground.

Looking around at the massive and chaotic builds around him, he quickly locked eyes with the wondrous half ice-castle, half ice-tree build that belonged to Stress- and curled around that build was a life-size sculpture of a dragon, made of ice, snow, lapis blocks, and wool.

_"At the dragon"_. There was no other place Mumbo could think of that would be what Grian had described.

Scanning the lithe form of the ice dragon, he slowly stopped his wandering gaze at the top of the dragon's head. Upon it, Grian sat, with his purple wings spanned out behind him.

Pulling his mouth into a thin line, Mumbo leaped into the air once more, firing off a rocket or two as he ascended into the sky.

As he reached closer to the head of the faux dragon, he saw Grian grin at him, and slip down onto an ice platform beneath it- Mumbo thought dully to himself, as he was faced with a familiar numbing cold, that he'd rather live in the icy waters of a tundra biome than deal with the cold that followed Grian like a moth to light.

The minute Mumbo's feet hit the platform Grian stood upon, however, he felt the coldness melt away.

Blinking in suppressed shock, Mumbo raised his eyes to meet Grian's narrowed gaze. He seemed almost... proud of himself, hands swinging back and forth as he rocked on his heels.

He couldn't even feel the cold from the ice, Mumbo thought to himself, slowly placing the rockets he held in his hands back in his inventory.

"I'm so glad you could make it," Grian mused, his grin fading into his usual polite smile, crossing his eyes playfully. "Do you like it?"

"Like... what? The not-cold?" Mumbo huffed, squinting his eyes in confusion. "And don't act surprised that I came. I still have more questions about you."

"Hm..." Grian hummed, picking at his fingernail half-hazardly, pulling a disinterested face. "Well, your questions were boring. And I'm tired of waiting! Seriously, you have a connection with an otherworldly, all-powerful being, and all you ask is about my origin? Most people would ask for a bit of power too, you know- I've decided to give you a little taste of it, in fact. Temperature immunity." He chuckled, covering his grin with his hand.

Mumbo fell silent for a moment, heart in his throat. What was he saying? What did he _really_ want?

"I have to admit, I was a bit of a liar a few hours ago, when you asked what I was here for." Grian hummed, smile widening in amusement. "I'm here to... _recruit_ , another Watcher, for lack of a better term."

"Recruit another- wait, wait, wait, what?" Mumbo stuttered, furrowing his eyebrows as he took a step back. "If you're implying that you want _me_ to-"

"Oh, but _yes_ , that is what I'm implying!" Grian laughed, wings fluttering as he leapt forward a step, stars in his eyes. "You'd be so helpful to us Watchers, what with your incredible knowledge of redstone and all, and the fact you haven't been greedy of this power is another plus..." He cooed, hands strung together in front of him.

"I must say, you've caught my pretty little eye, Mumbo Jumbo."

"I- what?" Mumbo huffed shaking his head. "No, no, no. I'm not- this- this is how _you_ stopped being human, isn't it?" Mumbo accused, taking another step back. The cold was beginning to come back, slowly and painfully.

"I'm not doing that. I don't even want your stupid powers, I'm fine how I am, thank you!"

"Oh, but you don't mean that," Grian murmured, wings spreading out behind him, his smile never leaving his face. "It's so much nicer, being a deity among players. You'll spend your days keeping millions of players safe and sound, creating and _knowing_..."

He stepped forward and behind Mumbo, placing his hands onto his shoulders. Mumbo's eyes fell upon a rather shiny ice branch in front of him, his reflection showing.

The cold crept upon him in an instant, and he froze up, teeth grit. Grian laughed icily, his grip tightening upon his shoulders.

Grian hid himself behind Mumbo's back, angling his wings so that it would appear as though they were Mumbo's own pair in the icy reflection of the branch.

"You could fly, truly _fly_... You could be free from this tiny world, and move between _thousands_ of them," Grian whispered, his voice chilling Mumbo to the very bone. "Show your talent and capabilities to every world out there... You could be _perfect_ , you could be granted everything you could want." He grinned, finger tapping against Mumbo's right shoulder in a slow rhythm.

"G-get, get o-off-ff me!" Mumbo shivered, his teeth clattering as he pushed himself away from Grian's icy grip. " _Wha-what_ are you on about?! My answer's _no_!" He hissed, arms clenched tightly around himself as he clenched his teeth together in an attempt to keep them from shivering.

The wind that whirled around him made his eyes water, as the coldness slammed into him relentlessly, frosty and unforgiving.

Grian's vibrant, nearly glowing purple eyes stared into him, the polite smile he always wore never falling.

And then, he grinned, he grinned so widely, his eyes shining in excitement.

"I knew it... I knew it! I knew you were special!" He cackled, bouncing in place. "I was just like you, back in my old world, you know. I was a rebellious little spirit... Ah, the memories." He sighed nostalgically, before giggling, grin returning to his face.

"You better stop being so interesting, Mr. Mumbo Jumbo, otherwise you'll end up being my favorite player!"

"I... What?" Mumbo croaked, turning his head around before swiftly turning back, eyebrow raised. "What was all that- that, wanting me to be like you bit, then?"

"Well, that wasn't a lie," Grian hummed, grin falling into his usual smile as he rocked on his heels. "Anytime you wanna rise to unimaginable power, just gimme a call!" He laughed quietly, covering his mouth with his hand.

Mumbo blinked, rubbing his arms as he tried ignoring the freezing cold around him, eyeing the strange person- "Watcher", apparently- mouth pressed into a thin line.

Grian's wings jittered every time he laughed- a strange detail he noticed without thinking much about it.

"Is that... the only reason you've been following me?" Mumbo asked, gulping. "Just- just because you think I'm _interesting_?"

"...Well, when you put it that way, it sounds a bit silly, doesn't it?" Grian hummed, his familiar polite smile returning to his face (since when did his odd smile become _familiar_?). "You must understand that a Watcher is never meant to be seen. It's... quite lonely, especially when you're fairly new. I had Taurtis, once upon a time, but he..."

Grian trailed off, his smile falling as he looked to the side. The feathers on his wings fluffed up, and his gaze turned sour.

"Well. It's rude to talk about those who are listening, I suppose." He finished with a grim smile. "I'll be Watching you, Mumbo. Maybe I'll stop by for a friendly chat, now and then." He hummed, turning around and spreading out his wings as he crouched, prepared to take off.

At the last second, he turned his head around, and grinned, one last spike of frost creeping up Mumbo's spine.

"Think about my offer, won't you?"

With a final gust of the icy wind, Grian took off, disappearing with the familiar sound of an ender pearl signifying his disappearance.

Inhaling sharply, Mumbo screwed his eyes shut, pushing down his curiosity as he slowly made his way down Stress' ice build. His hands still shook from the cold, and his breaths were shallow, the height he had been at lacking as much oxygen as he needed.

Exhaling onto his hands, trying to warm them up, Mumbo suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion overcome him, the previous night's lack of proper sleep finally getting to him.

He tried to make it back to his build, he really did. But he was just so tired, and the grass beneath him was so soft...

Struggling to keep his eyes open in one last attempt, Mumbo's mind shut off, and he tumbled to the ground, still shaking from the freezing cold he had pushed through not long ago as he curled up subconsciously.

\---


End file.
